Explain
by MysteriousCookieFF
Summary: Monica and Chandler in the past. Will they be together? CAN they be together? The story is better than the description. Not much to tell. Changed Rating. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

I don't own any characters or Friends.

Chapter 1

Monica washed up the tables. She had been working until ten, and she was finally done.

Her best friend, Chandler, walked in.

"I feel so bad for you. You never catch a break."

"I'll be fine."

Chandler thought Monica was beautiful. But he was her FRIEND. They weren't anything more than that, and they never would be; so he shut off his thoughts.

As for Monica, well, she certainly did love Chandler. And yes, she had thoughts about him. But she knew it couldn't turn into anything.

Monica was seventeen, working constantly. Chandler was a writer, so he didn't have to deal with what Monica would at her job. He was nineteen.

Monica felt safe around Chandler. When someone almost hurt her, Chandler hit him and handled it by calling the cops and telling them what happened. Although the man was really just a bully, Monica was still amazed.

Chandler walked her home. She called Phoebe, but asked Chandler to stay.

"So, what are you gonna say to him?" Phoebe asked excitedly.

"NOTHING," Monica replied as Chandler sat on the couch.

"Monica, I know you like him," Phoebe said into the phone.

"I don't l-" she stopped her sentence and sighed.

"...Oh, is he there?"

"YES."

"I'll leave you two alone, then," purred Phoebe. And at that, she hung up the phone.

Monica sighed and put down the phone, sitting next to Chandler.

"What was that?"

"Umm..." Monica stumbled for a lie. "We were just talking about next weekend."

Chandler chuckled. "You realize I can tell you're lying. What were you really talking about?"

"Really, nothing."

"C'mon, tell me!"

"Just Phoebe... saying things."

"And what exactly _were_ those things?" Chandler continued.

"It was just her making theories. Typical Phoebes," she assured him as he sighed.

"Fine, don't tell me."

Chandler took off his shirt, just in his undershirt, revealing his strong arms. Of course, he never thought it'd be a problem, and it wasn't.

Monica bit her lip. She _did_ like Chandler- but pushed those feelings away. He was her best friend, and it would just... Be wrong.

Chandler noticed Monica's calculating expression, slightly upset.

"What's wrong?" he asked casually, but concerned.

"Nothing," Monica replied quickly. "I'm going to go clean up." She tried to walk away before he could ask any questions, but he got up behind her.

"I'll help."

"Oh, no, you don't have to," she objected.

"I insist," he replied. "Someone like you should be having fun."

"It's fine," she told him blankly, and started cleaning up.

"No, really. You're pretty much supporting yourself," he continued. "You're a minor."

"It's no big deal. Just forget it, Chandler."

"You can stay with me for a while. I mean, if you'd like."

"No, I'm fine," she answered, and her tone made it clear that she wanted the conversation to be over.

"Fine."

Monica sighed. "Look, Chandler; I know it bothers you. But really, I'm OKAY."

"Alright," Chandler said, still not convinced.

Monica finished cleaning up. Chandler watched her walk over to the couch and sit down.

"Mon, you look exhausted," he said in a sympathetic voice. "Come 'ere." Monica shifted over to him and lied her head on his chest. He grabbed the blanket on the couch and covered her with it. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. He moved her hair out of her face to look at her.

Chandler wanted to take her and kiss her, have her as only his. He couldn't do that, though- for a number of reasons. They were only friends. Ross would kill him. He didn't know if she wanted the same.

Monica snuggled closer to Chandler and smiled. He felt her soft heartbeat against him.

As soon as Monica woke up, Chandler looked at her.

"Have a nice sleep?"

"Very," she answered, moving in even closer to him. "Let's just stay here."

"Happy to," he whispered.

The phone started ringing. Monica reached over and answered it.

"Hey, Phoebes," Monica answered into the phone. "What's up?"

"Hey, nothin', what's up with you? What are you doing? Are you with Chandler?"

"Yes..." Monica answered warily, knowing that Phoebe meant "with" in some kind of romantic way. She was worried Chandler would hear Phoebe through the phone.

"Ooh. What's going on?"

"We're just hanging out," Monica answered sharply, trying to get her to shut up.

"I know you like him. Why don't you just ask him out already?" she asked, annoyed. Monica inhaled deeply, hoping he hadn't heard that.

"Just be quiet."

"You're worried he'll hear? Monica, if you're so close that you're worried about it, I think it's true."

"We're just laying here-" she realized what she was saying could indicate something. "Just hanging out."

"PLEASE just get together with him already. That's what I called for."

"I have to go. Talk to you later?"

Phoebe sighed. "Sure."

Monica hung up the phone and shut her eyes. Chandler smiled at her comfort.

"You're so beautiful," he cooed quietly. Monica looked up at him with a calm smile.

"Thank you," she whispered back. "You're adorable," she said in a lighthearted but relaxed way.

Monica looked away. Chandler frowned.

He knew they couldn't be together.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Friends, any characters, or any places or parts of the show.

• • •

"Monica?" called a worried Chandler. She was in the apartment, but he didn't know where. "Monica?"

"Chandler?"

"Where are you?"

"In the bathroom. Hold on."

Earlier, Monica and Chandler were supposed to meet for coffee at Central Perk. Monica called him, crying, saying she couldn't make it. Chandler got to her as soon as possible.

Monica opened the door.

She had scars and bruises on her face, cuts all over, and her face was stained red with tears. She was still crying.

"Oh my-"

Monica stood there, frozen, helpless. Chandler ran over as soon as possible, holding her. He led her over to the couch.

"Monica, what- what..."

She was in a hysterical state, freaking out, crying. Despite how hysterical she was, Chandker could tell she wasn't overreacting one bit. It was all real.

Chandler was going to ask her if she was OK, but he knew the answer to that already.

"What happened?"

"I was- there were-" she stumbled for words. Chandler rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

"Shh. It's OK, you don't have to talk about it now. Here. You should get cleaned up. You'll feel better. But we need to call somebody first. The hospital. Someone."

Monica was in a hospital room before Chandler knew it. He went to see her as soon as possible.

As soon as he could get in, he did. They said Monica didn't want to talk about it yet, so he could just help her.

"Chandler, I'm so glad you're here." Monica hugged him, holding on to him for a long time.

"I missed you, too- I'm glad they're taking care of you." Chandler looked at her. "You need to get cleaned up."

"Will you help me?"

"For some of it," Chandler answered quietly. He helped Monica get undressed down to her underclothes (he'd never seen that much of her before, but of course, it didn't matter. He needed to help her) and then left her alone for a shower. He "prepped" the hospital bed she didn't use yet, and waited for her there.

He heard the water turn off.

"Chandler?"

"What is it?" he answered carefully.

"Do you have the hospital gown?"

"Yes; here," he said, and she reached out to grab it.

Monica came out with her hair loose, in a loose gown. She climbed into the bed.

"You probably need to get some rest."

Monica nodded and lied down on the bed, closing her eyes.

"I want to go home."

"I know, honey. It's OK."

"When can I come home?"

Chandler didn't know that. He didn't want to upset her. "When they make you feel better."

Monica looked down, and Chandler knew exactly what she was thinking. _She would never feel better._

But that could be helped. She _could_ feel better. Chandler didn't even know how it could happen yet, but she could.

"I'll call Phoebe, Ross, and Joey," Chandler said.

Chandler dialed the numbers.

The other three showed up as soon as possible.

"What happened?" they all asked, worried.

"She's not ready to talk about it yet," Chandler said quietly.

The other three agreed in understanding, nodding.

"When is she coming home?"

As if on cue, the doctor walked in.

"I'm going to need all visitors to exit, please," the blonde nurse asked. They all kissed Monica and left to the waiting room.

"What happened?"

Monica still wasn't quite ready to talk yet, but she figured she could if she left out details- just told the story vaguely.

"I was walking home- after work..." Her stomach lurched at the memory. "There was a gang of men. They mugged me," she said, starting to cry, "and then beat me up. Some even had weapons."

"OK, we're going to need to do some tests," said the nurse softly, to take care of Mojica's fragile feelings.

There were basic tests- some seemed completely irrelevant. They asked Monica a lot of questions, not related to the story, and finally let the other four come back in.

"She doesn't seem to have any infections. We used bandages and cleaned some of the injuries, but they seem to be OK. Make sure she uses the bandages and if anything strange happens, call us. She seems mostly traumatized, so I'd take her to a therapist or a psychiatrist if I were you. Keep her in a safe, calming environment, don't let her go back to work for about three to five weeks, and avoid the setting of the incident. If I were you, I'd tell her to find a different job- particularly in a safer place. After a while, she'll be OK."

The other four thanked the nurse. She nodded kindly and left.

"I can't believe this happened," Ross said to himself. Joey nodded in agreement. He cared deeply about Monica, even though he didn't hang out with her as often as Ross and Chandler did. He still knew her very well. Not to mention the group was coming together more, so he would probably get to know them all better.

The group talked to Monica. They helped her get home, all close, and Chandler lied her down.

"Can I talk to you?" Ross asked Chandler. Chandler quietly shut the door behind him to talk to Ross.

"Remember Rachel Green?"

"Monica's old friend and your big crush, right," answered Chandler.

"Alright," Ross breathed. "Well, here goes."

Chandler looked at him, wondering what he wanted.

"I, um... got her pregnant."


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Friends or any of it's essence. (Haha! Essence! Who knows where I got that from?)

Chapter 3

Monica woke up in a dark room. It was completely quiet.

"Chandler?" she called. She felt safer around him. She heard voices outside of the room.

"Chandler?" she called again. She sighed and stood up, opening the door. She saw Ross and Chandler both freaking out.

"What's going on?"

"Ross-"

"Chandler, let ME explain." Ross sighed in exasperation. "Remember Rachel Green? From high school?"

"Yeah.." Monica answered slowly, unsure of where he was going.

"I, umm... Got her pregnant."

Monica's eyes widened. Did Ross just say what she thought he said?

"Oh my God! Ross! How did you- what did you- how?!"

"Y'know, I have some pop-up books if you need 'em," Chandler joked. Ross shot him a look and Chandler shut up.

"I was walking home from work and I bumped into her. She says she's moving here. She recently left her husband. It wasn't really rebound or anything, because she left him a while ago. I think over a month ago.

"Anyways, she was single, we got to talking, she came to my place, and... It happened. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to make a big deal, and it was just kind of our business.

"She called me today and told me the news."

Monica found herself asking questions. "So, are you going to be there for her?"

"I'm going to be involved," Ross replied.

"How old is she right now, anyways?"

"Right now? She's your age," Ross answered.

"Oh my God, she's not even eighteen," Monica gasped in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know," Ross said guiltily.

"Wait. So she's a minor and you're not? Does that mean you're like, a felon or something?"

"I guess so."

"Oh my God. Ross, how could you do this?" yelled Monica.

"It's only one year. And we weren't really thinking about it, anyway."

"Oh, well, _that_ makes it not bad," Monica remarked sarcastically.

Like she was one to talk. Chandler was older, too. Monica had a crush on him, and he was nineteen. But that was different. Monica and Chandler _truly knew_ each other.

"I'm just so confused."

"Ross, don't worry about it," Chandler assured him. "It'll be OK."

Ross nodded miserably and headed back to his apartment.

"I'll tell the rest of them," Monica sighed, and headed over to the phone.

Chandler felt overworked. There was so much going on. Ross just got Rachel pregnant? Monica was still "unstable" from getting beat up and mugged. Chandler knew if must be harder on Monica, but he just wanted things to go back to the way they were.

"Hello? Hi, it's Monica. ...Yes? Yes? Oh, he already told you. Everyone? ...OK. OK. Bye." Monica hung up the phone.

"You shouldn't be dealing with this right now. Go back to bed," Chandler ordered softly.

Monica trudged into her room, still tired.

"Wait."

Chandler turned around.

"Can you... stay here with me?"

Chandler lied next to Monica, watching her sleep, thinking. What was going to happen to Ross? Chandler barely knew Rachel, but he knew her well enough to be able to talk about her.

What he cared about more was Monica. He wanted to keep her safe. He couldn't watch her 24/7, which worried him. He just wanted her to be happy.

Chandler kissed Monica's cheek and got up. Gently shutting the door, he walked into the kitchen, and started cooking a meal for Monica.

Chandler wanted to stay there with Monica, but he wanted to keep her healthy and feeling good. He put her feelings before his own. He cared so much about her.

Monica awoke to the smell of pancakes.

"Chandler?" she called, getting out of bed and following the scent.

"I was just making something for you. Go back to bed, honey," he ordered as Monica blushed at the nickname.

"I don't want to."

"The doctor told you to relax."

"Come with me," she pleaded as he flipped the pancakes on to a plate.

Chandler followed her into the room, giving her the food and laying down next to her. She ate in silence until she was finished, putting the plate next to the lamp on her bed. She maneuvered closer to Chandler. He put his arms around her, and she fell asleep again soon.

This was a really short chapter. More coming soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey!

I'd like to thank my reviewers! 5 reviews to me is a lot for a newer story!

When I saved my document to Fanfiction docs, I typed the wrong label... This is supposed to be chapter 4 but I accidentily said Chapter 3... I don't know if that shows up here or anything but this is Chapter 4. (I'm new to Faniction and I only update every few days so I'm not on a lot. I'm still figuring out how to use it.)

Someone asked if I changed the rating, I did (used to be M but now it's T). I'm gonna post a separate story for the M parts, maybe a one-shot.

By the way, Joey's not on Days of Our Lives yet.

I don't own Friends or its essence (nor Days of Our lives).

Thanks for reading!

(I'm watching Friends right now and it's 4:30 AM. Phoebe's giving birth and there's some secret Mondler going on. ?)

Chapter 4

"Is it a girl? Is it a boy?" Ross questioned.

"I don't know, Ross," Rachel answered with a smile.

"When are we gonna find out?"

Rachel laughed, shaking her head.

"I don't know." Rachel paused. "Did you tell Monica?"

"Yeah," Ross answered. "I told all my friends. Do you know Chandler Bing?"

"Umm, to say the least," Rachel muttered.

"Well, I told him, and umm... Joey Tribbiani?"

"...I don't know him," Rachel said thoughtfully.

"Oh. Well, I told him," Ross explained. "Phoebe Buffay knows. She's a friend of Monica," Ross told her.

"So... Six people know? Have you told your parents?"

"No. You?"

"Are you kidding?" Rachel scoffed. "My dad would freak."

Ross nodded in understanding.

"Ross?"

Ross turned around to her.

"What's gonna happen to us?"

Ross shrugged sympathetically.

"I really don't know. I mean, that was a good night," Ross replied. "No one said it had to be exclusive."

"But no one said it didn't."

Ross changed the subject. He liked Rachel, but they had to focus on other stuff right now. "We're going to see each other a lot."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed quietly.

"Are you, like... Seeing anyone right now?" Ross asked quietly.

"No!" Rachel replied, offended. "I wouldn't go cheat on my boyfriend."

"Neither would I," Ross said. Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

Rachel smirked.

"Umm, I'd better get going," Ross told her after a moment of silence.

"Okay."

"Umm, I'll call you," Ross assured her. Rachel smiled.

"Bye."

Ok, I know this was a really short chapter, but I'll have the next one up soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! I have some notes:

Taylor: Yes, she was married early. I had to make her to help the story's plot.

You know how Monica's mom is so mean? That's why she kicked her out.

I guess those were kind of a given. I'm glad you're reading my story!

Chapter 5

"Monica? Monica? Wake up," Chandler ordered.

Monica's eyes fluttered open. Chandler's heart skipped a beat as she looked in his eyes.

"Chandler?" Monica sat up. She gripped her blanket over her chest, remembering she was wearing just a tanktop and loose shorts. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. You slept in. I thought you were hungry."

"Oh. Yeah. Now that I'm up, I'm gonna go get washed up," she Told him, walking into the bathroom.

Chandler brought her food into her room, placing it on the desk. Chandler laid down on the bed. It still smelled of Monica.

It hurt him, not to be with her.

The water turned off and Monica walked out of the bathroom in a robe. She climbed into bed.

Chandler gave her the plate. "Eat," he ordered. Monica slowly are the plate of food while Chandler watched her.

Chandler put the plate in the kitchen. He walked back into Monica's room.

"Come lay with me," she told him. Chandler smiled and lied down in the bed with Monica.

"Mm," Chandler murmured. "This is nice."

Monica snuggled into Chandler's chest.

Chandler looked down at her. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to take her and kiss her and show her how he felt about her.

But he couldn't.

Monica slowly shut her eyes and drift off to sleep in comfort. Chandler kissed her head and moved her hair out of her face. He lied his head down on the pillow, tired himself.

Chandler had this. And it still made him feel happy.

"Chandler?" Ross called. "Chandler?"

He walked into his sister's room, finding Monica and Chandler asleep on the bed together.

"CHANDLER!" he yelled in fury. "What- what's going on?"

"Ross, it's not what it looks like-"

"Oh, so I didn't just find you in bed with my sister?" He looked at her. "WITH NOTHING BUT A ROBE?!"

"Ross-"

"No! I shouldn't have let her stay here with you!"

"ROSS! All that happened was we fell asleep!" he corrected him. Ross didn't say anything, just looked at them angrily. He then eyed them suspiciously.

"Nothing happened?"

They shook their heads.

"Fine," he said, exiting the apartment.

"I can't believe him," Chandler said angrily. Monica looked down. "Y'know," Chandler continued quickly, "because he's being so rude."

"Yeah," Monica agreed, nodding. She was obviously upset.

"So... Now what?"

"I'm still tired," Monica answered, shrugging.

"Alright. C'mon." They settled under the covers. Monica exhaled tiredly, moving closer in.

Monica looked at Chandler. He leaned in a little. She moved up a bit, watching him. Suddenly, their lips met in a soft kiss. It felt so good to her.

When the kiss broke apart, Monica's eyes fluttered open. She leaned into his chest and drifted off to rest.


End file.
